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31 March 2014

The election of President John Mahama as the ECOWAS Chair has come at a
time that the continent needs his kind of leadership to lay a solid
foundation for its political and economic development. That is according
to the Kuku Hill Campaign Centre of the NDC.

In a statement issued by the Centre, it stated, President Mahama’s
“incorruptible and selfless leadership” would guide him to offer real
hope to the people of Africa in his one-year tenure.

“Your Chairmanship election is to the chagrin of your detractors….to
the disappointment of your cynical critics but to the ordinary Africans
is great news, welcomed in a greater expectation in an undeniable trust
in your leadership, capacity and competence to bring change in the
region.”

The Centre urged him to vigorously pursue the creation of borderless
states within the ECOWAS sub-region. This, it said, will speed up the
elimination of chronic discrimination, corruption so as to facilitate
efficient trading and free movement of persons.

BELOW IS THE FULL STATEMENT

March 31, 2014

WE SALUTE THE SPIRITED ELECTION OF PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA AS
CHAIRMAN OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)

We wish to congratulate you on your election as the Chairman of the
Economic Community of West African States – your election at the 44th
Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Government
in Yamoussoukro, in La Côte D’Ivoire is a clear demonstration of your
competence and acceptable political leadership in your country, Ghana
but also your immense contribution to the strategic re-positioning of
Africa at large.

Mr. President, your leadership over the years has demonstrated that the
spirit of our age is the one in which the unforgiveable sins of
colonial imperialism and separatism of our continent into a weak and
unviable financial/economic states to keep us eternally dependent are
put behind us, as we match forward in the spirit of Africanism to
restore our oneness in the unification of Africa for Africans.

The Economic Community of West African States, like Africa at large is
in need of your kind of political leadership/vision to urgently lay a
solid political and economic foundationto push for the unity agenda in
the face of the continuous superiority of the United States of America,
European Union and now emerging democratic Russia and China. We admire
the United State of America, European Union, Russia and China but we
love Africa.

Like Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, former President Jerry John Rawlings
you are destined for political greatness in your incorruptness and
selfless leadership in offering real hope for your citizenry and people
of Africa. Your class and quality of leadership on issues of importance
to Africa from stable democracy, HIV AIDS treatment, sustainable energy,
portable drinking water, food security to applied research, to name but
a few in transforming Africa into a developed world for its people is
enduring your political personality to many hearts and minds in Africa
and beyond.

Your Chairmanship election is to the chagrin of your detractors….to the
disappointment of your cynical critics but to the ordinary Africans
isgreat news, welcomed in a greater expectation in an undeniable trust
in your leadership, capacity and competence to bring change in the
region.

One of these expectations is reflected in the social will of the people
for a creation of borderless states within the ECOWAS sub-region. This
is to speed up the elimination of chronic discrimination, corruption so
as to facilitate efficient trading and free movement of persons. It is
their expectation that for the first time in a long time real efforts
are made to realize this social will.

Furthermore, through your leadership the people expect to see real
determination to start and expand infrastructural interconnectivity
within the ECOWAS region. Especially well designed but connected modern
railway transport system as well as first class roads linking the
sub-region. To this end, we expect you to lead the establishment of
ECOWAS infrastructure fund.

Also, to bring on board a new sense of urgency in creation of a single
currency and trading market within the sub-region. This is necessary to
remove the artificial trade barriers and the financial distortions which
are undermining our real value of trade and wealth creation. This is to
enhance individual livelihoods and poverty reduction through increase
opportunities for youth employment, shared resources, better management
of scarce resources and technological transfer.

Your leadership is expected to promote regional intellectual and
cultural identity – in the pursuit of common but greater educational
system within the sub-region. The west African region, like the rest of
Africa stands on the threshold of education, scientific and
technological revolution in many areas of strategically influencing the
structural change and transformation of Africa – ushering in the new
Economic Independent Age of Africa; light/heavy industrial sector,
agricultural science and food security, biotechnology, energy and
information technology.

Mr. President, we urge you to still remain focus with your political
and economic governance of our country, Ghana. Like former President
J.E.A Mills you are doing much with little unlike your loud critics who
whilst in government did little with much and now are good at organizing
economic lectures. As beneficiaries of debt cancellation and debt
relief they were unable to successfully manage the economic future of
our country and leave it in a better state for future governments – they
the New Patriotic Party’s administration instead; left behind huge debt
stock and a broken economy out of uncontrollable borrowing, corruption
and misplaced expenditure which is well documented.

These are people who could not manage a mere Presidential Cassava
Initiative, run down Ghana Airways, Ghana Telecom and sold its assets
like a metal scrap and ended up relying on Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby
former Chief Executive of defunct Ghana @ 50 Secretariat to shamefully
pre-finance our 50th Independent Anniversary with his own money in a
black polythene bag from his office in a violation of the Financial
Administration Act, 2003(Act 654).

We can report to the Ghanaian people that this administration is
responsible and through patience is vigorously pushing forward our
national development across villages, districts and regions – for a
better Ghana.